Jackson Pittman, left, and Adam McBath finish work on a trailer for Rapunzels' new chicken coop.

A lot of people have expressed interest in what a "typical day" consists of at Better Farm. Simplest answer? It depends. Every day starts and ends with chores (feeding the animals, flipping on the grow light in the aquaponics, checking for eggs, herbs, veggies, and fruits ready for harvest, opening and closing the chicken coops), and on most days (weather permitting), the interns are outside all day working in the gardens or on a construction project. Other days (and in inclement weather), we get the morning chores done and have time to take a field trip, do some research, clean up inside, make house renovations, or have some down time.

While our interns have a set schedule and daily chores, our artists design their own days. They help out throughout the week on different activities, chores, and projects, but their focus is on their art. So an artist might keep to himself or herself for days at a time, reappearing for a flurry of activity. Our recent visiting betterArts resident Kevin Carr described one of his busy days like this:

Woke up at 8:30, fed chickens, harvested heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and corn with Elyna, stacked the other half of the fire wood, jarred the dried mint, figured
out what the mystery herb was (lemon basil), and made lunch....and it's
only 1:15. Now to shower, pick some herbs, make some bottle cap
sculptures, and enjoy the rest of the day!

Meanwhile, our intern Jackson completed this list recently:

Fed fish, switched on grow light in aquaponicsFed, watered chickens, checked for eggsOrganized green tomatoes inside according to ripenessCleaned upstairs bathroomsCompleted work on a trailer for one of the chicken coopsWent jogging

We invite those staying at Better Farm to come up with projects that interest them, so the set curriculum here is always subject to change. Meeting the demands and imaginations of the people staying here has enriched our programming to include past and ongoing projects, including:

An upcoming hobbit house

Rainwater catchment systems

Cold frame construction

Forge building

Wood splitting

Aquaponics

Canning, blanching, and preserving

Vertical gardens

Better Farm functions for our interns and artists as a living laboratory in which to experiment, grow, and learn. But there's also an awful lot of bonding that goes on around here; with people opting to cook many meals together and invite members of the community out to enjoy family dinners, or participate in different projects on the property. Community outreach projects are determined by the people staying here; whether it's tabling at a local event, helping to paint the post office, offering workshops to the public, or building a communitygreenhouse.

Nicole Caldwell is a self-taught environmentalist, green-living savant and
sustainability educator with more than a decade of professional writing
experience. She is also the co-founder of Better Farm and president of
betterArts. Nicole’s work has been featured in Mother Earth News, Reader’s
Digest, Time Out New York, and many other publications. Her first book,
Better: The Everyday Art of Sustainable Living, is due out this July
through New Society Publishers.

Better Farm

Setting up for betterArts’ Children’s Room at this year’s North Country Goes Green Irish Fest in Watertown March 16-18. Thanks to the volunteers who came out to support our sister organization, which functions to expand access to the arts for all. www.betterarts.org

Snack break on a snowy afternoon.

Our compost initiative is expanding! Many thanks to @clayton_food_co_op for getting on board by donating food scraps to Better Farm to be fed to our sanctuary animals and turned into soil. Food waste accounts for up to 40 percent of “garbage” — so separating scraps out of what we throw away means a massive reduction in landfill waste. Compost contributes to soil regeneration, and fresh food scraps replace or supplement animal feed, reducing carbon emissions associated with food processing and transportation. Composting is a radical act we can all be doing several times every single day.

When archaeologists visit Better Farm.

February 28. Canadian border of New York. Garlic already sprouting. #thesethingsarenotnormal

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A little pre-spring dirt worship with the girls.

Get on the bus! Registration for our 2018 sustainability program is now open, with lots of dates to choose from! bit.ly/2oAFFnh

#farmlife

Very excited to announce our new partnership with DiPrinzio’s Kitchen in Clayton! The fine-dining Italian restaurant and catering company is saving all its table scraps to be used as Better Farm’s gardens and fed to the pigs and chickens. Big ups to @mollicathebaker for facilitating this fabulous new project!

Neigh-bors Riddler, Blaze and Red enjoying the breakfast buffet.

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#mondaymood

Sunday Funday with Buffalo the alpaca.

Nice haul today from a standing dead oak tree. #woodstoveseason

Somebody is SO EXCITED about all this fresh, organic hay! Thanks to everyone near and far who generously made donations to keep the hay supply flush alllllll winter long. Better Farm and all its beautiful beasts love you! 🐓🐖🦒🐴🦆🐥